"Just let me talk to him first," Edward told Jonathan as he pushed him down in a chair in the waiting room before Oswald's office, giving his shoulder a few reassuring pats, "I know how to butter him up, you'll see. Just wait here, be a good boy, then we'll get it all sorted in no time."
With that, he headed right for the door, opening it and stepping inside. "Oswald! Hey, long time no see. You are looking splendid. I'm back from down South, I brought you some excellent bourbon. How's it going?"
As he talked, he walked into the office, smiling brightly. A few moments later, the door opened again and Victor walked in, looking at Oswald with a shrug. "Nygma's here."
"I can see that, Victor. Thank you." Oswald offered with no real thanks but he had learned to expect Victor to be wholly ineffective at anything but killing the people he wanted. Oswald got out of his chair and limped towards Edward, taking the drink off him and studying it carefully before opening it right away. "Victor, tell someone outside to bring us glasses. I need a drink."
He knew he'd need one. He and Edward had a lot to discuss, he needed a drink and glasses and no way could Victor do that. Nor would he do it. But he could tell other people to do it. Looking at Edward, he leaned back against the desk and crossed his arms.
"So, I saw the performance. I saw nothing I expected and yet, I remain unsurprised by anything you do. Tell me, Edward - why do you always find a way to make my life difficult?"
Victor disappeared out of the room after a nod and Edward just smiled and leaned against Oswald's desk as well, looking relaxed. He wasn't too worried about any of this, but then, he rarely worried much. Not about things like this, anyway. "Difficult? That's just a bad word for interesting. What has you so constipated, Ozzy? It went well. It's going well. Did you check my post? Engagement is through the roof. You know how that translates into those black numbers you like so much. Ka-ching!"
He accompanied the last word with some appropriate gesturing and a tongue pop, laughing when the door opened and a woman indeed appeared with a tray that had a couple glasses on them. She set it down on the desk and Edward thanked her politely. "Oswald, this is a celebratory drink. Be honest."
"Okay! Let's celebrate. Let's celebrate your new band, one member of which is very in demand by his agency. Very persistent. You would not believe how much they called me and the names they called me too. Not very civil." Oswald poured himself a glass and drank it down like it was water, not even reacting to what was likely a harsh burn. He was quite a drinker these days, nothing really touch him. Except red wine, all dangerous decisions were on red wine. Oswald laughed and smiled at Edward but there wasn't entirely humour there - even if he did find this funny. "Jonathan Crane's agency wants to sue him for breach of contract and likely drag us into it. I don't fancy that so I'll leave that to you."
He poured himself another glass and raised it to Edward. "Shall we drink to you making the problem go away? Because if you can't solve this whole country music controversy, we can always hire you another new bassist." And he'd be just as shit as the last guy out of spit.
"I had to negotiate this morning to get Echo and Query to release that last gem of a bassist you hired for us, because they were very content to keep him hanging upside down in the foyer for a couple weeks. If I can do that, you should be able to deal with a couple of hicks." Edward didn't feel overly bothered by the course of the conversation, he simply filled Oswald's glass again, idly thinking that he really had to find some nice boy to soften Oswald's edges again. He was getting awfully sharp.
Suggesting that he needed to get laid probably wouldn't help, so he smiled at him instead. "You must get how much it would be worth to have him. Anyway, it's bullshit. Jonny's not breached anything yet. He finished his set and I've been looking through his documents, at his contract, nothing there says he can't go on stage with a satan-worshipping faggot like me. That's what his father calls me, by the way, what do you think? I like it, I'm thinking of using it on merch."
"He called me a sinner too. Faggot. Demon. I didn't catch every insult, it's a thick accent." Oswald dismissed with a playful smile. Okay, okay, so he found it funny. He didn't want Edward to feel like he got away with it, he had to have some control but it was funny. He huffed out a sigh and shook his head, dropping into his desk chair again and drinking his bourbon slower this time. "I just don't want to deal with another scandal. I'm not saying that Jonathan isn't an asset, I've heard him play and he has an established career - we might get some interesting crossover interest."
There was a lot of benefits, he knew that, even if he had to deal with an angry father and agency coming at him. "You're the easy one, Edward. I like when you don't stress me." Oswald turned to Edward and gave him a very weary look. "Romana bit a man in public and joked about cannibalism on her twitter and the Joker was caught in another sex scandal. An orgy. In a theme park. A theme park, Ed! I'm losing my mind."
And then Jonathan happened and ... it was just a long week.
"You are stressed, boss, I get it." Edward took a sip of bourbon, then walked around the desk to stand behind Oswald, reaching down to gently massage the man's temples, drawing small circles with his fingertips. "Jonathan's a song writer too. Lyricist and composer. We've already worked on some things in the bus, but he has a back catalogue. Stuff he's done that his management would have never let him use. There's stuff for my group there. For his solo work, if he wants to. Stuff Romy or someone else could have too, I'm sure. And they don't even know how much of an asset he is there, because they never let him."
Jonathan had told him a lot about his woes, mostly when too drunk to remember afterwards, but still. Between that and having access to the man's phone? He had a pretty complete picture. "And that contract he is under, boss, that's not Gotham-made. That's not iron-clad, trust me."
He let his hands drop onto Oswald's shoulders, so he could massage them instead. "Besides, what better distraction from the uncontrollable scandals than me staging a very intentional scandal? Jon follows my lead. He'll play along with me any which way."
"I did look at the contract. It's not very solid. Quite poor. And given he was forced to sign it at 15, I think it'd be easy to dismantle if we had to." Of course he looked, he wasn't stupid. Much like Edward, he saw the potential, he just didn't know what direction it could go. "He better be a good boy. You know how Christian boys get in the big city, he better not overdose on sin and cause me any trouble. You make sure that boy doesn't cause me problems and I won't have to have him killed."
He wouldn't, of course. He hadn't even had Romana killed and she was pushing it hard.
"I will fight for Jonathan Crane if you promise me that this won't backfire. And, because I always like to get a little something out of you for every favour, you have to give me your word that you will work on the Joker's new album." He needed someone to try and reign in the avant garde masterpiece that was the Joker's bullshit writing. "Get me at least one hit with mass appeal on that thing and we have no problems. Promise."
"He'll be fine. He likes me. Think he likes me a lot, actually." Not hard to guess, that one. "I've the sneaking suspicion that I'm not just his homosexual awakening, but sexual awakening period. If you catch my drift." And Eddie did like Jonathan, he really did, but he was a bit too much himself to not see the potential usefulness in having the man want him. The more focused on him he was, the better. He didn't believe he'd be too hard to control. Jonathan had said it himself, he wanted to be with Ed.
"...the Joker's new album, huh?" That was a headache in the making. "Am I to officially work on it? Because you do know that if he gets into another scandal, that could affect my comparatively squeaky clean image."
"No, don't tell anyone. Are you insane? I don't want you involved unless we ever need another intentional scandal. Just nudge him into making something with mass appeal, maybe offer a song or two. Maybe offer it to Harley." Not Minjun or Gyungho, they were 'artists' who would never consider other options but Harley was open, agreeable and mostly not the worst. "Give me something I can sell and we'll make it work with your Georgian lover boy."
Whatever was going to happen with that, it would be interesting. "Anything else you want to do? Do I have to meet Jonathan for him to be assured or shall we just leave it as it is?"
"I'll see what I can do. We get along." he didn't really have a problem with the Joker, but he did know that he had to be careful about playing it safe, so he couldn't end up implementing himself somehow. He was a sinner, as Jonathan liked to point out, but that was different from what Gyungho enjoyed doing. "We'll make them sell out a bit, you'll see."
He let go of Oswald, so he could lean against his desk again and shrug. "Maybe meet him for a bit. He's a country boy, you know? He doesn't get the big city. He likes things being proper."
It was sweet, he thought. Charming. "Reminds me, Oswald, there is someone else I want you to meet. I think you might like him."
"God, I'm having flashbacks to when Gyungho told me the same about Minjun." And he certainly did not like that frustrating little twink. Sure, he'd had sex with him quite soon after but that was besides the point! He was not thrilled. "Fine, I can meet Jonathan and ... whoever else. I hope it's not another band member for you to hump on stage or that squeaky clean image is going to go to hell."
Oswald pulled out his phone and send a message to his secretary so she'd know to email Jonathan's agency, as he had been ready for this. He just liked to make sure Edward wasn't blinded by his dick first.
"Not a band member, no. Although he can play piano and sing, actually. You like that though. A man who's good with his fingers." Which Ed assumed Minjun was as well, but his experience there wasn't as personal as Oswald's. Still, he was hoping his guy would annoy Oswald a lot less. Not that Minjun wasn't a delight. Edward walked away while Oswald messaged his secretary, opening the door to peek his head out and smile at Jonathan.
"It's all sorted, Jonathan! Told you. Come on in, meet the boss."
"Sure thing." Jonathan had been talking to one of the girls in the office and it was clear by the expression on her face that Jonathan had charmed the hell out of her. Or, more likely, his voice was winning points. Jonathan followed Edward inside the office and looked around, mostly just fascinated by the candles. So many candles. So much gothic aesthetic. Not that he didn't love it but... dear God, how did anyone see on Gotham? He looked at Oswald and didn't make a move to shake his hand or do anything much. He just turned to see what Edward wanted him to do.
Oswald kind of found it fascinating. Okay, so, probably not going to be an issue as long as he only cared what Edward thought. "Welcome to the team, Jonathan. How do you like Gotham?"
"It's dark and wet." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. "I like it fine."
"Georgia is bright, hot and wet and Jonathan likes it dark, so it's an improvement on the whole." Edward grinned at his new bandmate, slinging an arm across his shoulder and presenting him to Oswald proudly. He felt he had picked very wisely. "We'll see you again in a couple days, boss, Jonathan needs a contract that covers his song-writing too. I'm not letting my boy here get screwed by anyone."
He turned his head to kiss just below Jonathan's ear, adding quieter. "But me."
"Amusing. Okay, fine. We can negotiate..." Oswald trailed off as he got his diary and flipped through it before pausing when found a free day. "On Wednesday? Gentlemen, does 2pm work?"
"Of course, thank you." Jonathan didn't smile or anything, there was none of his personality that came out with Edward but he had always been like that. His feelings didn't easily come out, he wasn't used to expressing himself out in front of people. "Apologies if you've had negative calls on my behalf."
"Not to worry, it was entertaining. I've had worse in Gotham." Usually from Romana, amusingly enough. "Now, I'll see you boys on Wednesday. Try to be on time."
"See you then, boss. Be a good boy until then, you dirty little sinner!" Edward was halfway tempted to try and do the accent to go with that, but he'd decided against it, simply laughing and pulling Jonathan along, out of the office. "He likes you." Well. At least he felt that Oswald was liking the possibilities here, which was good enough. "I only had to make one little concession and I didn't even have to suck him off or anything."
"Well, good. I suppose. Why is his office only in candlelight? I assume it's just a Gotham thing but even so, it's an odd one." Jonathan looked around the place and then found himself looking at Victor curiously too. What a strange man he was, he looked perfectly Gotham too. "That Oswald fellow is really putting the goth in Gotham, ain't he?"
Jonathan did like it, even if it all let him a bit at odds with himself. He turned to Edward and offered him a small frown. "I can handle my father and my agency. I'll call later today, see if I can't control them a little."
"You can if you want to, darling, but I can also just keep your phone and we can let Oswald handle it. Trust me, this is nothing compared to what he usually deals with." As if on cue, they walked past Victor Zsasz who was inspecting one of his guns. He assumed that Jonathan was no stranger to guns, but the kind of weaponry Victor had was different from some rifles in Georgia. "Hey, Zsasz."
"Hi." Victor looked up to give them a nod and Edward kept walking.
"Rumour has it he has tally marks on his body, one for everyone he's killed." It made for a fun story. He had no idea whether it was true.
"I would be surprised but there's a lot of weirdos in Georgia who love their guns and their shooting. He's just a lot better dressed." Truth. Jonathan slipped his hands into his pockets and he followed Edward out, wondering idly if he wanted to actually face his father or just let someone else get rid of the problem for him. "If your boss can't shift their focus, I guess I can just step in then. I don't fancy talking to them."
If he was perfectly honest.
"Let's go back to the RV and have a few drinks, I got some ideas I wanna scribble down." Edward was, apparently, really good for his inspiration.
"Already inspired again? Jonny, the muse isn't just kissing you, I think you've gotten her to deep throat you." Edward laughed, somewhere between dirty and endeared, heading for the RV as Jonathan wished. He'd still have time to catch up with his sister later. For now, he enjoyed even more time spent with Jonathan.
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icebergloungers2021-02-05 09:55 am
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With that, he headed right for the door, opening it and stepping inside. "Oswald! Hey, long time no see. You are looking splendid. I'm back from down South, I brought you some excellent bourbon. How's it going?"
As he talked, he walked into the office, smiling brightly. A few moments later, the door opened again and Victor walked in, looking at Oswald with a shrug. "Nygma's here."
Evidently.
"He's observant."
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He knew he'd need one. He and Edward had a lot to discuss, he needed a drink and glasses and no way could Victor do that. Nor would he do it. But he could tell other people to do it. Looking at Edward, he leaned back against the desk and crossed his arms.
"So, I saw the performance. I saw nothing I expected and yet, I remain unsurprised by anything you do. Tell me, Edward - why do you always find a way to make my life difficult?"
It seemed like a fair question.
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He accompanied the last word with some appropriate gesturing and a tongue pop, laughing when the door opened and a woman indeed appeared with a tray that had a couple glasses on them. She set it down on the desk and Edward thanked her politely. "Oswald, this is a celebratory drink. Be honest."
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He poured himself another glass and raised it to Edward. "Shall we drink to you making the problem go away? Because if you can't solve this whole country music controversy, we can always hire you another new bassist." And he'd be just as shit as the last guy out of spit.
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Suggesting that he needed to get laid probably wouldn't help, so he smiled at him instead. "You must get how much it would be worth to have him. Anyway, it's bullshit. Jonny's not breached anything yet. He finished his set and I've been looking through his documents, at his contract, nothing there says he can't go on stage with a satan-worshipping faggot like me. That's what his father calls me, by the way, what do you think? I like it, I'm thinking of using it on merch."
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There was a lot of benefits, he knew that, even if he had to deal with an angry father and agency coming at him. "You're the easy one, Edward. I like when you don't stress me." Oswald turned to Edward and gave him a very weary look. "Romana bit a man in public and joked about cannibalism on her twitter and the Joker was caught in another sex scandal. An orgy. In a theme park. A theme park, Ed! I'm losing my mind."
And then Jonathan happened and ... it was just a long week.
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Jonathan had told him a lot about his woes, mostly when too drunk to remember afterwards, but still. Between that and having access to the man's phone? He had a pretty complete picture. "And that contract he is under, boss, that's not Gotham-made. That's not iron-clad, trust me."
He let his hands drop onto Oswald's shoulders, so he could massage them instead. "Besides, what better distraction from the uncontrollable scandals than me staging a very intentional scandal? Jon follows my lead. He'll play along with me any which way."
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He wouldn't, of course. He hadn't even had Romana killed and she was pushing it hard.
"I will fight for Jonathan Crane if you promise me that this won't backfire. And, because I always like to get a little something out of you for every favour, you have to give me your word that you will work on the Joker's new album." He needed someone to try and reign in the avant garde masterpiece that was the Joker's bullshit writing. "Get me at least one hit with mass appeal on that thing and we have no problems. Promise."
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"...the Joker's new album, huh?" That was a headache in the making. "Am I to officially work on it? Because you do know that if he gets into another scandal, that could affect my comparatively squeaky clean image."
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Whatever was going to happen with that, it would be interesting. "Anything else you want to do? Do I have to meet Jonathan for him to be assured or shall we just leave it as it is?"
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He let go of Oswald, so he could lean against his desk again and shrug. "Maybe meet him for a bit. He's a country boy, you know? He doesn't get the big city. He likes things being proper."
It was sweet, he thought. Charming. "Reminds me, Oswald, there is someone else I want you to meet. I think you might like him."
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Oswald pulled out his phone and send a message to his secretary so she'd know to email Jonathan's agency, as he had been ready for this. He just liked to make sure Edward wasn't blinded by his dick first.
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"It's all sorted, Jonathan! Told you. Come on in, meet the boss."
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Oswald kind of found it fascinating. Okay, so, probably not going to be an issue as long as he only cared what Edward thought. "Welcome to the team, Jonathan. How do you like Gotham?"
"It's dark and wet." Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. "I like it fine."
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He turned his head to kiss just below Jonathan's ear, adding quieter. "But me."
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"Of course, thank you." Jonathan didn't smile or anything, there was none of his personality that came out with Edward but he had always been like that. His feelings didn't easily come out, he wasn't used to expressing himself out in front of people. "Apologies if you've had negative calls on my behalf."
"Not to worry, it was entertaining. I've had worse in Gotham." Usually from Romana, amusingly enough. "Now, I'll see you boys on Wednesday. Try to be on time."
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Jonathan did like it, even if it all let him a bit at odds with himself. He turned to Edward and offered him a small frown. "I can handle my father and my agency. I'll call later today, see if I can't control them a little."
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"Hi." Victor looked up to give them a nod and Edward kept walking.
"Rumour has it he has tally marks on his body, one for everyone he's killed." It made for a fun story. He had no idea whether it was true.
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If he was perfectly honest.
"Let's go back to the RV and have a few drinks, I got some ideas I wanna scribble down." Edward was, apparently, really good for his inspiration.
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